Journal of Chemical, Biological and Physical Sciences

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1 JCBPS; Section B; May.2015 July.2015, Vol. 5, No. 3; E- ISSN: Journal of Chemical, Biological and Physical Sciences An International Peer Review E-3 Journal of Sciences Available online at Section B: Biological Sciences CODEN (USA): JCBPAT Research Article Leaf composition of cashew (Anacardium occidentale. L): A case study from the Jajpur district, Odisha Abhijit Mitra 1, Prosenjit Pramanick 2, U.S. Parkhi 3, Subratta Debnath 3, Nabonita Pal 4 *, Pardis Fazli 5 and Sufia Zaman 2 1 Department of Marine Science, University of Calcutta, 35, B.C. Road, Kolkata , India 2 Department of Oceanography, Techno India University, Salt Lake Campus, Kolkata , India 3 TATA STEEL LIMITED, Kalinga Nagar Industrial Complex, Jajpur, Odisha , India 4 Department of Biotechnology, Techno India University, Salt Lake Campus, Kolkata , India 5 Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University Putra, Selangor, Malaysia Received: 15 April 2015; Revised: 02 May 2015; Accepted: 06 May 2015 Abstract: Researches on composition of floral extract have increased in recent times. Various herbal products are recognized for their antimicrobial activities. The present work is an attempt to evaluate the macro-, secondary- and micronutrients in the leaves of cashew (Anacardium occidentale. L) collected from the Pankpal area ( N and E) in the Jajpur district of Odisha. Considerable levels of macro-nutrients and secondary-nutrients indicate the efficacy of the cashew leaves as the ingredients of organic fertilizer. The soil parameters of the ambient environment were also analyzed simultaneously to understand the quality of the soil. It is observed that cashew can withstand 2634 J. Chem. Bio. Phy. Sci. Sec. B, May 2015 July 2015; Vol.5, No.3;

2 adverse environmental condition where the soil ph is acidic with extremely low organic carbon percentage and high concentrations of biologically available heavy metals. Keywords: Cashew, nutrients, soil parameters, Pankpal (Jajpur district, Odisha). INTRODUCTION Cashew (Anacardium occidentale.l) is an important crop in the Indian subcontinent, which is predominantly grown in the state of Goa, Karnataka, Kerela, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal (Figure 1). The crop is resistant to harsh environmental conditions and therefore grows luxuriantly in wastelands and degraded lands. In the maritime state of Odisha, the crop is prevalent in various pockets and the present study is a snapshot of the nutrient status in the leaves collected from Pankpal area ( N and E) of Kalinganagar, in the Jajpur district of Odisha. Also the soil was analyzed in the area to get an overview of the ambient environment. Figure 1: Cashew plantation site in the Pankpal area MATERIALS AND METHODS The researchers selected fifteen cashew trees at random in the study site during March These trees were about 7 years old. Seventy five leaf samples (five leaves from fifteen trees) were hand picked, washed first under tap water followed by 0.1 N HCl, distilled water and double distilled water. The samples were then dried by spreading on clean blotting papers and final drying was done in an oven at 68 o C 1. The samples were sequentially ground by electrical grinder for further analysis. The nitrogen (N) content in the leaf samples was analyzed by Kjeldahl method 2. Phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), iron (Fe), manganese 2635 J. Chem. Bio. Phy. Sci. Sec. B, May 2015 July 2015; Vol.5, No.3;

3 (Mn), zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) were estimated by tri-acid mixture (9:4:1 HNO 3 : HClO 4 : H 2 SO 4 ) as per the standard method 3. Soil samples in and around the study site were analyzed to evaluate the magnitude of stress (Table 1). Table 1: Sampling sites in and around the cashew plantation area beside Pankpal road Site Coordinates Near Parking lot at Gate No. 1 Near Gate 2 Labour Colony Non-fertilized soil site Khrunti Plantation site Pankpal Road (study site) N E N E N E N E N E The measurement of soil ph was done in the field with a micro ph meter (Systronics, Model No. 362) with glass calomel electrode (sensitivity ± 0.01) and standardized with buffer 7.0. Soil organic carbon was determined by the standard oxidation method 4. Soil samples from surface (1 cm depth) were collected by scrapping using a pre-cleaned and acid washed plastic scale and immediately kept in clean polythene bags, which were sealed. The samples were dried in an oven at 105 o C for 5 6 hours, freed from visible shells or shell fragments, ground to powder in a mortar and stored in acid washed polythene bags. Analyses of biologically available metals were done after re-drying the samples, from which 1 gm was taken and digested with 0.5 (N) HCl as per the standard procedure 5. The resulting solutions were then stored in polythene containers for analysis. The solutions were finally aspirated in the flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (Perkin Elmer: Model 3030) for the determination of metal concentrations. No detectable trace metals were found in the reagent blank. RESULTS Leaf samples of 15 trees (collected randomly) were analyzed for macro-nutrients (N, P and K), secondary-nutrients (Ca and Mg) and micro-nutrients (Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu) (Table 2). The order of macro-nutrients is N > P > K. In case of secondary-nutrients, the order is Ca > Mg. The micronutrients varied as per the order Fe > Mn > Zn > Cu. This is in almost accordance with the soil samples in and around the cashew plantation site where the biologically available heavy metals 2636 J. Chem. Bio. Phy. Sci. Sec. B, May 2015 July 2015; Vol.5, No.3;

4 varied as per the order Fe > Zn > Mn > Cu (Figure 2, 3, 4 and 5). The average soil ph in and around the cashew plantation site was 6.4 (Figure 6). We also analyzed the organic carbon level in and around the cashew plantation site in order to judge the fertility of the soil. It is observed that the soil in and around the surrounding study area is extremely poor in organic carbon level (Figure 7), which clearly confirms the adverse condition of the ambient soil. Table 2: Elemental composition of cashew leaves N (%) P (%) K (%) Ca (%) Mg (%) Fe Mn Zn Cu (ppm) (ppm) (ppm) (ppm) Figure 2: Biologically available Fe (in ppm dry wt.) in surface soil in and around the Pankpal cashew plantation site 2637 J. Chem. Bio. Phy. Sci. Sec. B, May 2015 July 2015; Vol.5, No.3;

5 Figure 3: Biologically available Zn (in ppm dry wt.) in surface soil in and around the Pankpal cashew plantation site Figure 4: Biologically available Mn (in ppm dry wt.) in surface soil in and around the Pankpal cashew plantation site 2638 J. Chem. Bio. Phy. Sci. Sec. B, May 2015 July 2015; Vol.5, No.3;

6 Figure 5: Biologically available Cu (in ppm dry wt.) in surface soil in and around the Pankpal cashew plantation site Figure 6: ph of surface soil in selected sites in and around the Pankpal cashew plantation site 2639 J. Chem. Bio. Phy. Sci. Sec. B, May 2015 July 2015; Vol.5, No.3;

7 Figure 7: Organic carbon (%) of surface soil in and around the Pankpal cashew plantation site DISCUSSION Cashew is a very important horticultural crop of India which has various uses like human consumption, industry and medicine. The kernel of cashew is a rich source of protein, carbohydrate and fat. It also contains several minerals and vitamins. Considering the edible value of the crop it is important to evaluate the nutritional status of the plant system. In this work, we report the micro- secondary- and micro-nutrients in cashew leaf collected from Pankpal region in the Jajpur district of Odisha. This report may serve as the baseline data of the cashew leaf as no previous work has been reported till date in the present study area. Leaf nutrients documented by several researchers exhibited a mean value of 1.496% N, 0.117% P, 0.468% K, 0.286% Ca, 0.209% Mg, 53.67% Fe, 23.11% Mn, 16.97% Zn and 11.53% Cu 6. Soil nutrient status along with simultaneous analysis of leaf nutrient level can generate a picture of congeniality of the environment (where the crop is grown) as well as nutrient requirements of the species. Inorganic leaf analysis has been extensively used as proxy to soil nutrients. The present report clearly indicates the low concentrations of macro- nutrients in the leaf, which may be attributed to edaphic factors. In the present study area the soil is lateritic in nature and is basically loamy sand on the surface layer. The soil ph is acidic and the organic carbon content is also low, which strongly confirms the harsh condition of the environment. The low soil ph in the present study area is a matter of concern as it favours the ready availability and transference of micro-nutrients into the endemic floral community. The considerable high value of Fe, Mn, Zn 2640 J. Chem. Bio. Phy. Sci. Sec. B, May 2015 July 2015; Vol.5, No.3;

8 and Cu in the leaf of the cashew might be the result of low ph that triggers the process of bioaccumulation. A strong monitoring programme is needed by the concerned authorities to keep the level of the micro nutrients within the permissible level as prescribed by FAO (1977). 7 Although we analyzed the leaf micro-nutrient, but considering the edibility value of cashew, we compared our values of micro- nutrients with that of FAO (1977) 7 (Figure 8). The presence of higher values of Mn and almost similar values of other micro-nutrients (Fe, Zn and Cu) to FAO (1977) 7 level serve as a warning signal to the quality of cashew grown in the present study area. The bioavailability and subsequent bioaccumulation of the micro-nutrients can only be reduced through enhancing the ph of the soil system, which can be achieved through showering 2% lime water at weekly interval (on the soil) along with the use of organic fertilizer in place of chemical fertilizer. % Fe Mn Zn Cu FAO level Our Study Micronutrients Figure 8: Micro- nutrient composition of cashew leaf as per our study (compared with FAO cashew kernel value, 1977) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors are grateful to the financial support and analyses facilities offered by Clean Blue Planet Consultancy Services ( REFERENCES 1. H.D.Chapman, and P.F. Pratt, Methods of Analysis for Soil, Plant and Water, Division of Agricultural Science, University of California, Berkley, USA.1961, J. Chem. Bio. Phy. Sci. Sec. B, May 2015 July 2015; Vol.5, No.3;

9 2. AOAC. Official Methods of Analysis, 11th Edn. Association of Official Agricultural Chemists, Washington, DC M.L.Jackson, Soil Chemical Analysis. Prentice Hall of India Private Ltd., New Delhi A.Walkley and I.A.Black, An examination of degtajaroff method for determining soil organic matter and a proposed modification of chromic acid filtration. Soil Science, 1934,37: B.A.Malo, Partial extraction of metals from aquatic sediments. Environ. Sci. Tech., 1977, 11, T.R.Rupa, T.R., Kalalvanan, D. Reshma and P.Rashmi, Nutrient content in the leaves of cashew (Annacardium occidentale L.) in relation to variety. Journal of Plantation Crops, 2014, 42(1): FAO/WHO (1977). Dietary Fats and Oils in Human nutrition. FAO, Food and Nutrition Paper 3, FAO, Rome. Corresponding author: Nabonita Pal. Department of Biotechnology, Techno India University, Salt Lake Campus, Kolkata , India; 2642 J. Chem. Bio. Phy. Sci. Sec. B, May 2015 July 2015; Vol.5, No.3;